My marathons

Rajec Marathon

The organiser has not published a date. Rajec
Rajec
Rajec. Photograph by Schliemann, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser says the race starts and finishes on Námestie SNP in Rajec, runs a 2 km loop of the town's streets, then goes through Šuja, Fačkov and Čičmany and back to the square.

The course in short 3 lines
  • A two-kilometre town loop, then the villages out to Čičmany and backOne town loop at the start, then three villages and home to the square.
  • Measured and asphalt, with about 200 m between low and highOfficially measured, all asphalt, a 200 m height difference by the organiser's count.
  • Nine aid stations, and your own bottle can be carried outAid at nine points on the course, with a drop-off for your own food and drink.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryA two-kilometre town loop, then the villages out to Čičmany and backOne town loop at the start, then three villages and home to the square.

The organiser’s course text reads: “Štart aj cieľ Rajeckého maratónu je na námestí SNP v Rajci”. It then describes the first kilometres: “Po štarte sa beží 2-km okruh mestom, ulicami Hurbanova (B), Moyzesova (C), Obrancov mieru (D), Nádražná (E), Jánošíkova (F), Hurbanova (G), Šafárikova (H), Nádražná (I), nám. SNP (J), potom cez Šuju, Fačkov, Čičmany a späť na námestie v Rajci (M).”

The race rules name the roads used: I/64 and III/2112 between Rajec and Čičmany, and I/64 and III/2111 between Rajec and Rajecká Lesná. For the 2026 race the organiser closed them to traffic from 8:30 to 14:00, and the in-line runners finished in Čičmany.

Sourced

Whole courseGradientMeasured and asphalt, with about 200 m between low and highOfficially measured, all asphalt, a 200 m height difference by the organiser's count.

The organiser’s course text says: “úradne premeraná, povrch trate je asfaltový, výškový rozdiel je 200m”, after giving the length as 42 195 m. That is a height difference, the gap between the course’s low and high points, which is a different thing from the total a runner climbs over the day; the organiser shows the course as a profile picture and gives no climb total.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsNine aid stations, and your own bottle can be carried outAid at nine points on the course, with a drop-off for your own food and drink.

The organiser’s course page names the nine kilometre marks and lists ionic drink, water, mineral water, fruit, biscuits, chocolate, salt and sponges.

Runners can prepare their own refreshments: “Je možné si pripraviť aj vlastné občerstvenie a označiť štartovým číslom, ktoré bude tiež rozvezené na občerstvovacie stanice. Odovzdať vlastné občerstvenie je nutné do 8.00hod v priestoroch prezentácie.”

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsThe 2026 race: 43rd edition, 250 places, a nine o'clock startA small field of 250 on a Saturday morning in August, with the half and relay starting alongside.

The 2026 race was the “43. ročník”, run on 8 August 2026: “8. 8. 2026 o 09:00hod”. The organiser’s home page calls it “Majstrovstvá Slovenska veteránov a veteránok (koeficient WMA)”, the Slovak championship for veterans.

The marathon had a cap: “MARATÓN: účastnícky limit = 250 pretekárov.” The half marathon and the relay started at 9:00 with the marathon, and an in-line half marathon went off a minute earlier, at 8:59.

The presentation, in the town hall on the square, was open from 16:00 to 22:00 on the Friday and from 6:30 to 8:00 on the race morning.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Rajec, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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